CClinicalTrials.gg
TerminatedNCT03432000TOCASUpdated Aug 1, 2025

Links Between Perception of Temporal Order Judgment and Causality in Schizophrenia

An interventional study of Performances of patients and controls on temporal task in Schizophrenia, sponsored by Hôpital le Vinatier. Terminated at 1 site in France. Open to participants aged 18 Years to 45 Years, including healthy volunteers. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2025-08-01.

Sponsored by Hôpital le Vinatier · Not applicable, Interventional, and Other

Why this study was terminated
Investigator departure
Phase
Not applicable
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
52
Allocation
Non-randomized
Ages
18 Years to 45 Years
Sex
All
01

Study summary

People with schizophrenia show disturbances in the perception of time. Among these alterations are the perturbations of the temporal order judgment. They are characterized by the fact that, as opposed to the general population, people with schizophrenia require a longer time interval between two successive stimuli to estimate which of the two events appeared first. If these alterations are now well documented, their consequences remain little explored. Among these consequences could however appear distortions of the judgment of causality (likely to underlie certain delusional interpretations) as well as a distressing experience of loss of the continuity of the lived experience (that could contribute to the alterations basic of self-awareness).

Read the detailed description

The objective of our work lies in the study of the links between temporal sequencing, subjective perception of time and causality.

To carry out this work, the investigators will rely on an experimental paradigm (derived from Michotte's paradigm) which makes it possible to explore the links between temporal sequencing and perception of causality, validated in the normal subject. subjective consequences of these alterations will be explored using a phenomenological-inspired clinical scale (EAWE time-scale items)

02

Conditions studied

  • Schizophrenia

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03

Who can participate

Ages eligible
18 Years to 45 Years
Sexes eligible
All
Accepts healthy volunteers
Yes

Inclusion criteria

Subjects with schizophrenia:

  • Age from 18 to 45 years
  • Diagnosis of schizophrenia according to DSM V criteria
  • French mother tongue
  • Psychotropic treatment unchanged during the month preceding the inclusion
  • Stable symptomatology
  • Normal or corrected visual acuity (> 0.8 at Snellen scale) and normal color vision
  • Patients who gave informed consent to participate in the study

Control subjects (healthy volunteers):

  • Age from 18 to 45 years
  • Absence of neurological and psychiatric disorders
  • French mother tongue

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Recent addiction and abuse of cannabis or any other substance (according to DSM V criteria)
  • Neurological disorders of vascular, infectious or neurodegenerative origin
  • Taking somatic drugs with a cerebral or mental impact (eg corticosteroids)
  • Disabling sensory disturbances, and in particular visual acuity
  • Participation in a Neuro Cognitive Remediation Program
  • Schizophrenia resistant to neuroleptic treatments
  • Persons protected by law (pregnant women, minors, major under guardianship ...)
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Study design

Phase
Not applicable
Primary purpose
Other
Allocation
Non-randomized
Intervention model
Parallel assignment
Masking
None (open label)
Enrollment
52 participants (actual)

Study arms

  • Experimental
    subjects with schizophrenia

    Performances on temporal task Subjective alterations of time perception in patients with an adapted scale (EAWE) Global symptomatology with PANSS (positive and negative symptom scale)

    Other: Performances of patients and controls on temporal task

  • Sham comparator
    healthy subjects

    Evaluate the links (correlation) between perception of temporal sequencing and perception of causality using an adapted experimental paradigm (Michotte paradigm) and to compare performance between healthy subjects and controls Investigate the existence of a correlation between these alterations and the peculiarities of the subjective experience of time (EAWE scale) in the group of subjects with schizophrenia

    Other: Performances of patients and controls on temporal task

Interventions

  • OtherPerformances of patients and controls on temporal task

    To carry out this work, we will rely on an experimental paradigm (derived from Michotte's paradigm) which makes it possible to explore the links between temporal sequencing and perception of causality, validated in the normal subject. subjective consequences of these alterations will be explored using a phenomenological-inspired clinical scale (EAWE time-scale items)

05

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. Comparison of the scores obtained by subjects with schizophrenia vs. the controls for the causal tasks, according to the delays between stimuli (stopping the moving launcher and appearance of the static object).

    Michotte paradigm: evaluate the links (correlation) between perception of temporal sequencing and perception of causality using an adapted experimental paradigm

    Time frame: eight months

Secondary outcomes

  1. Comparisons of the scores obtained on the Time Experiment Rating Examination of Anomalous World Experience Scale (EAWE).

    Examination of Anomalous World Experience (EAWE ) scale:investigate the existence of a correlation between these alterations and the peculiarities of the subjective experience of time The E.A.W.E. consists of 6 dimensions (relation to space / relation to time / relation to others / language / atmospheric experience / existential orientation).The second domain only will be explored in our study Each item is both detailed, on a scale of 0 to 2 (0 for absent, 1 for present but with doubt, 2 for present, no doubt). The overall score of the sub-time scale thus ranges between 0 and 78.

    Time frame: eight months

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Study locations

1 site
  • Vial Veronique
    Bron, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes 69678, France
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References and documents

Individual participant data

Plan to share: No

No publications or documents are linked to this record.

08

Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT03432000
Lead sponsor
Hôpital le Vinatier
Responsible party
Sponsor
First posted
Feb 13, 2018
Start date
Feb 1, 2018
Primary completion
May 24, 2022
Completion
May 24, 2022
Last update
Aug 1, 2025

Study contacts

MARTIN BRICE
principal investigator · CH LE VINATIER

Oversight

Data monitoring committee
No
FDA-regulated drug
No
FDA-regulated device
No
View the source record on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

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